water ingress....drivers side and passenger rear
 

Hi again guys yet another problem with the a8, i came out the house this morning to the drivers footwell full of water, i left it as had no way of clearing the water and after pulling away and turning right out the street i heard a swishing noise and some water come ****ing out between the c pillar trims at the passenger side and soaked the seat.

We did have a bit of rainfall last night here but this is the first time iv come out to this :( im not sure if the sunroof has been left open very slightly, just enough to let it trickle in. I did push a welding rod down the drain hole to make sure it was clear. Im not sure if the drain has been blocked or the pipe has come adrift and rather than drained to the ground it has ran down behind the dash behind the a pillar trim and into the carpet. it managed to run into the fuse box but i pulled the covers off and dried out with an airline. it has since rained a little more and nothing more has come of it.

has anyone had any water ingress issues similar to this? It would be good to hear if anyone can shed light or give me somewhere to start if they have had something similar to this

thanks :)

Its a common fault, and as such has been mentioned many times and documented here in a few different threads.

Its not recommended to push a welding rod down the tubes as that can puncture them and leak cause leaks into the car.

Usually though they do block requiring regular maintenance.

I personally use a bug spray bottle modified to squirt the crap out of the tubes.

Scuttle area also needs constant attention if you live anywhere near trees.

Not that it's of much use, but here is where the sunroof drain tubes run and what it looks like behind the roof panels (not mine btw).

http://i66.tinypic.com/ny7k83.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2vcucn7.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/121fsrb.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/2yx0y20.jpg

As Del said, it's not the best idea to ram an arc welding rod down there like you're ramrodding a 17th century cannon, or even blow compressed air down the tubes. With the former, it's likely you'll pierce the rubber lines somewhere, and with the latter it's likely you'll rupture the brittle rubber, or blow the top of the rubber tube away from where it's secured.

I've used Del's method before, adapting a bug / chemical sprayer and using warm soapy water and it worked well.

Might be a good idea to check the bungs / drain tubes in the centre tunnel. You can find them in the central tunnel and peeling the carpet back a bit.

http://i66.tinypic.com/209svn6.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2numvld.jpg